


The Soldier's Owner

by withasideofangst



Series: Asshole Shorts [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Author is Not Dead, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes-centric, Gen, Hydra (Marvel), Not Beta Read, Ownership, Past Brainwashing, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-26
Updated: 2015-11-26
Packaged: 2018-05-03 11:22:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5288849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/withasideofangst/pseuds/withasideofangst
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The mission.</p>
<p>It was what he lived for, it was all he knew.  He'd been trained for it for much longer than he could remember, and he had given up everything in order to improve his chances of succeeding at it.</p>
<p>His memory was only a part of that.</p>
<p>As was his left arm.</p>
<p>It didn't matter who he served.  He was well aware that he had been sold and resold over the years, to many different groups and countries, some even enemies of previous owners.  He served whoever his current owner was, and followed their orders without question.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Soldier's Owner

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not dead! I'm working on Substantial Code chapter 3 right now, I just needed this short out of my head. It also served as a partly-literal warm up, since it's cold in my house and my fingers are stiff.
> 
> So yeah. Sorry. I'm having Bucky feels anew because of the GODDAMN TRAILER FOR CIVIL WAR THAT JUST CAME OUT. AND I CAN'T TORTURE TONY IN SC BECAUSE HE IS DEAD AND BUCKY IS NOT IN IT (YET). So this happened.

The mission.

It was what he lived for, it was all he knew.  He'd been trained for it for much longer than he could remember, and he had given up everything in order to improve his chances of succeeding at it.

His memory was only a part of that.

As was his left arm.

In return for his sacrifice, he was the greatest soldier in existence.  Not only for "Mother Russia," like his old handlers thought, or for the heads of Hydra, like his new handlers thought.

It didn't matter who he served.  He was well aware that he had been sold and resold over the years, to many different groups and countries, some even enemies of previous owners.  He served whoever his current owner was, and followed their orders without question.

Sometimes they left the need to ensure his loyalty by wiping his memories or causing him physical harm, but he remembered more than they thought.  He _thought_ more than they thought, as a brain capable of thinking and improvisation was also necessary for the perfect soldier.  His core mission and directives were too important to forget.

So when the blonde man who called himself Captain America called him Bucky, the Soldier didn't remember him, but inferred that he was a previous owner.  He didn't care - if he wasn't currently the owner of the Soldier, he could not follow his commands.

But then Hydra sent the Soldier on what could only be a suicide mission, and the Soldier knew his owners were losing control.  The thought was confirmed when Project Insight went down in literal flames, and both Hydra and SHIELD's secrets were exposed to the world.  That left the Soldier with no owners, and therefore no mission.

And the Soldier must always have a mission.

At first, the Soldier attempted to find more Hydra heads to work for, but many were under siege by SHIELD, and the others reacted as though they expected him to attack them.  When they attacked him, he had to protect himself, and none of the attackers survived.

Since he was trained to use computers as well - necessary for the Soldier in the modern age - he hacked the surviving elements of SHIELD, and thus found out Captain America was looking for him.  He, and by extension, the Avengers, seemed to think that the Soldier was Captain America's old friend Sergeant James "Bucky" Barnes, and that he was taking revenge on Hydra for turning him into the Soldier.

Although as a rule, the Soldier did not form opinions on whether or not intel was true or false, he had to be able to tell when he was being lied to, and the Avengers did not appear to have a reason to lie about the Soldier.

Therefore he judged the information to be correct.  The Soldier knew he had come from somewhere, that he had been a person before he had been the Soldier.

What the Avengers could not have predicted was the Soldier's reaction to the information.  In that, he had none.  He did not care.  The Soldier's previous name was Bucky Barnes.  That didn't mean the Soldier was Bucky Barnes.

But since the Soldier needed an owner, his most recent one seemed inclined to kill him, and his previous owners had all been destroyed (often by the Soldier) or otherwise no longer in operation, perhaps Bucky Barnes' old friend would do.

After all, the Soldier did not have friends, but sometimes his owners' other assets called him that, usually insincerely, while on missions.  Captain America, aka Steve Rogers, did not seem insincere.  That seemed like a good place to start.

Which is how the Soldier found himself walking into Avengers Tower with several very frightened grunt soldiers pointing guns at him.  The Avengers themselves were not far behind, and the Soldier could read the rush with which each had put on their uniforms in the slight signs of dishevelment apparent in each, except the Black Widow, Natalia.

The Soldier did not remember training her, but Hydra's files had said he did, and that the asset had deemed her as his favorite, before they wiped him again.

They also told him that he'd killed Anthony "Tony" Stark's parents.  The Soldier did not remember that either.

But it meant that he likely had two enemies among the Avengers, at least.  He'd worked with more in the past.  Enemies were predictable: eventually they tried to kill you.

People who termed themselves "friends" were trickier.  They tried to kill you in less obvious ways.

So the Soldier didn't react even when a bow, two repulsor gauntlets, and several more guns were pointed at him.  He knew the alien Thor was off-planet at the moment, otherwise there would be a hammer ready to be thrown at him as well.

To the Soldier, that was practically a handshake and a hello.

Then Captain America arrived, exiting the tower elevator looking more harried than the others.

When he walked towards the Soldier, Natalia and the archer shifted their stances slightly as he passed them, both clearly not happen that he was getting closer to the Soldier.

"Bucky?"  Captain America asked.

The Soldier didn't respond, although he knew he was supposed to.  It was not his name.

"Bucky, do you remember me?"  He asked again.

"I am the Soldier," he responded in Russian, knowing most of the Avengers spoke at least a little of it, including the Captain.  He'd fought against them in the war long enough to know at least a little.

The Captain flinched.

"Bucky..."

While Bucky Barnes' old friend looked like the Soldier had ripped out his heart and killed his puppy - and unexpectedly, the Soldier found the look unnervingly _familiar_ in a distant way - Natalia stepped forward.  The archer looked even more aggrieved.

"What is your mission?"  She asked, in English.

"The Soldier has no mission."

She relaxed almost imperceptibly, and the other Avengers seemed to read it as a good sign, each relaxing slightly in return.

"Let's continue this upstairs," she said to the others, without looking away from the Soldier.

Which led to the Soldier being walked to the elevators and brought up to a clear-walled room.  It didn't look like a good place to keep an enemy, but the Soldier recognized the nervous-looking man in glasses, wringing his hands off to the side of the room when they entered.  He had been listed in Hydra and SHIELD's files as Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk.  Which meant that the room he was in was likely able to withstand the Hulk, same as the one in the helicarrier designs.

The Soldier filed away the knowledge and did not fight back as he was escorted into the room and the door shut behind him.

As soon as it closed, all the Avengers seemed to deflate somewhat, the tension mostly leaving their postures.  Except Natalia, who was trained too well to ever relax, particularly in the presence of an enemy.

While the others were letting out a breath, she walked up to the clear wall.

"You said you have no mission."

It wasn't a question.  The Soldier nodded, and the other Avengers' eyes fixed on him, particularly the Captain's.

"Do you remember what happened in D.C.?"

"Yes."

"Who are you?"

"I am the Soldier," the Soldier said, and the Captain's face crumpled again.  The Soldier didn't react.  "Sometimes designated the Winter Soldier.  Previous owner was the organization known as Hydra."

The corners of Natalia's eyes tightened fractionally, and the other Avengers - those whose faces he could see, at least - suddenly looked sad.  The Soldier was not sure why.

"Bucky -"  The Captain started, but he subsided when Natalia raised a hand and glanced back at him.

"Hydra," she said abruptly.

"Hail Hydra," he responded, knowing the proper response.

Her eyes narrowed.

"You worked for Hydra in D.C.  Do you work for them now?"

"No."

"Then your response was?"

"The Soldier is to respond to any mention of Hydra with the phrase Hail Hydra until otherwise ordered."

"Consider that order lifted," she said, and he nodded.

The Captain looked both slightly relieved and even sadder at the same time.  The archer's gaze was similar, but better hidden, and Banner and Stark, in the Iron Man armor, both moved to talk quietly in the corner, in front of computer monitors the Soldier could not see.

There was silence for a moment, and then the Captain stepped forward and broke it.

"You said your previous ow-...You previously worked for Hydra.  Who do you work for now?"

"The Soldier does not have an owner."

Although outwardly the Soldier gave no sign, inwardly, he was relieved that he was able to state his predicament.  The Avengers would be his new owners, and the Soldier would be given missions again.

"Good, Bucky, look, you're a _person_ , people don't have owners."

The Soldier shook his head.  The Captain didn't understand.  But Natalia did, he noted, as he saw understanding in her eyes.

"You came to us because you want us to be your owner," she said, and the Captain got the kicked-puppy look on his face again as the Soldier nodded.

"We don't _own_ people, Bucky."  He said.

"The Soldier is not people.  The Soldier is the soldier."  For the first time, he turned his head away from Natalia to look at the Captain directly, and the man seemed to flinch slightly under stare.  "The files on Hydra and SHIELD's computers stated that the Soldier used to be Bucky Barnes, but I am not him anymore.  He is gone, Captain America.  Do not look for him in me, you will not find him."

"Then why would you come back, to me?  Bucky is somewhere in you.  I failed y- him, once.  I won't do it again by giving up a second time."

"I do not have the authority to prevent you from trying.  But you do your _friend_ a disservice by mistaking me for him."

Upon seeing the Captain was ready to continue arguing, he turned back to Natalia.

"Will you give me my missions?"

She regarded him for a long moment, both of them ignoring the look on the Captain's face.

"What would you do if I refused?"  She asked.

"Ask the other Avengers."

"And if they refused?"

"Find someone else."

"Hey, buddy," the archer broke in, raising an eyebrow.  "I know your reputation, but that glass is built for the Hulk.  I don't think you'd be going anywhere."

The Soldier glanced at him, aware of his records with SHIELD as well.  The man was not so different from the Soldier, just with a different owner, whether he thought of it as such or not.

"The Soldier has enemies."

The archer frowned.

"Care to elaborate?"

"The Soldier's enemies will find the Soldier and come to kill me.  Then I will find a new owner.  Perhaps one of them."

"You would fight for someone trying to kill you?"

The question came from Banner in the corner, and the Soldier turned to look at the man.

"Yes.  Most of the Soldier's owners try at some point."

"That's...horrible," Banner said, awkwardly.

The Soldier shrugged his metal shoulder.

"The Avengers tried to kill me before.  But you seem more predictable than Hydra."

Natalia's mouth twitched upwards for a moment, and the Soldier caught the movement.

"Is that the only difference?"  She asked.  "Not that we don't kill innocents?"

He knew that she already knew the answer.  She'd been trained by him, after all.

"I complete my mission.  It doesn't matter what the mission is.  The Soldier is the perfect soldier, the weapon.  It is the owner who chooses where to fire."

Silence followed the Soldier's words for several long moments, but the Soldier didn't react.  The Avengers had not been given the information in advance, and he was aware that they had never dealt with an asset similar to him in the past because there were none.

He didn't need their approval, just their orders.

Finally, Natalia sighed.

"What if we ordered you not to kill?  If we ordered you to stay, not hurt anyone, and try to remember Bucky Barnes?"

The Captain looked hopeful, but the Soldier felt resigned.

"That is not an acceptable mission."

There went the look again, on the Captain's face, and Natalia's tightened.

"I thought the Soldier obeyed all orders?"

He shook his head.

"I obey my owner's missions, but when they do not act as an owner should, the Soldier's orders are to find someone who will.  That is not a mission.  I am not Bucky Barnes, I am a weapon.  If you want the Soldier on your team, publicly or not, that is a mission.  If you order me to work with the remainder of SHIELD, the Soldier will.  But I am the Winter Soldier, not Bucky Barnes.  Do not confuse the two."

There was silence again, and the Soldier sighed.

"I can see even you, Natalia," she flinched at the name, "cannot give me the orders I require.  The Soldier will wait for Hydra to come, and I will find an owner elsewhere."

He stood up and walked to the far wall, sat against it, and leaned his head back against it, closing his eyes to wait, but not to sleep.

"You remember me?"

He heard Natalia ask quietly.  The shuffling noises from the other Avengers told the Soldier that they had not been aware of the connection between the two assassins.

"No, but I read the files.  They said you were my favorite, little spider."  He opened his eyes to look at her again.  "The Soldier does not feel regret, even as you can, Natalia, but I think...you are owed an apology, even if I am not able to give it."

She looked rattled for a moment, and he caught the shine in her eyes before she gained control of her emotions again.  The Widows' emotions were both what made them better at gathering intelligence than the Soldier, he reflected, and also what made them worse assets in the end.  Emotions were what ultimately ended the Red Room, as his lack of any led to the success of his.

Tony Stark was the one to break the moment, in the end.

"Hey, Tin Man.  What makes you think Hydra could even get to you, in here?  This is my tower, it's considerably harder than SHIELD to break into.  You're not going anywhere at the moment - I haven't even gotten a look at that arm yet."

The Captain looked angry.

"He's not a _toy_ , Stark," he muttered, but the Soldier was used to most of his technicians acting in a similar manner.

"Hydra can get into your tower.  I could, if I were ordered.  They'll likely come tonight."

As if on cue, the alarms went off in the building.

The Soldier smiled, all teeth, as the Avengers launched into action.

_My ride's here_.  The foreign thought passed through his mind, unnoticed.

 

**Author's Note:**

> The Soldier's use of "I/me" and "the Soldier/the asset" to refer to himself is not accidental. He said "I knew him" in CAtWS, so I know he's able to think of himself as an "I," but my version of him still doesn't think of himself as a person, and so he uses both ways of referring to himself. I wanted Bruce to call him on it, but it just didn't fit in the short.


End file.
